SACRAMENTO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION Margie Namba Mark White Robert Bailey Dana Curran, Vice Chair George Buzz Link, Chair Dr. Anthony DeRiggi Eric Rivero- Montes Mark Barry Richard Hunn Dianne Kindermann MEETING MINUTES A JOINT COMMISSION APPOINTED BY: County of Sacramento City of Sacramento City of Isleton City of Folsom City of Galt City of Elk Grove Monday, June 15 th, 2015, 6:00pm. Environmental Management Department Mather, Ca 95655 1 Call to Order- Chair Link The meeting of the Sacramento Environmental Commission was called to order at 6:03 pm. 2 Roll Call- Staff Secretary Commissioners present: Dana Curran, Dr. Anthony DeRiggi, Mark Barry, Mark White, George "Buzz Link, Eric Rivero-Montes, Richard Hunn, Dianne Kindermann 3 Introduction of Commissioners-Chair Link Newly appointed commissioner Diane Kindermann took a moment to introduce herself. The other commissioners introduced themselves also. 4 Public Comment- Chair Link No members of the public addressed the Commission. 5 Consent Items- Chair Link 1. A motion to approve the April 2015 minutes was made by Mark White and seconded by Dr. Anthony DeRiggi. Ayes: Mark White, George "Buzz" Link, Dr. Anthony DeRiggi, Mark Barry, Eric Rivero- Montes, Dana Curran Abstentions: Richard Hunn, Diane Kindermann
2. A motion to approve the Web Links to Add to the SEC Webpage was made by Mark White and seconded by Anthony DeRiggi. Ayes: Mark White, Dana Curran, George "Buzz" Link, Dr. Anthony DeRiggi, Mark Barry, Eric Rivero-Montes, Diane Kindermann, Richard Hunn Abstentions: Dana Curran 6 Infill- Tricia Steven, Sacramento County, Principal Planner Infill development is the reuse of land or existing developed sites in urban or suburban areas that are now vacant. The County s general plan strongly encourages well planned infill that revitalizes communities and urban areas by conserving open space, encourages walkability and biking, promotes jobs and increases housing. Ms. Stevens mentioned several upcoming infill projects including Barrett Ranch, Aerojet and Butano Apartments. Future commercial infill site projects include Howe and Ethan, the Campbell Soup parcel and Mather and McClellan airbases, which were prior brownfield sites. The Butano apartments are an example of an infill project that was well designed, zoned properly and met all the criteria and zoning codes but still elicited fierce opposition from the neighborhood due to the inclusion of affordable housing units. The Sacramento Board of Supervisors, after considering the neighborhood concerns, did approve the project. The long term goal is for infill projects like this is to revitalize surrounding businesses. There are many mixed use and streetscape improvement infill project opportunities along commercial corridors in Sacramento County. One of the larger planned infill/greenfill projects is the Easton project, located near the Hazel light rail station, which intends to use public transit as an integral part of the development. High density and mixed use is desired here as the market strengthens and supports that kind of development. The County of Sacramento uses available incentives to encourage infill developers. The County can offer developers fast track processing, fee deferrals for affordable housing, and infill home designs already completed and approved that developers can use to begin projects immediately. There is a data base of key infill sites to make it easier for developers to research potential sites. The zoning codes have been updated and simplified and the Business Environmental Resource Center (BERC) is a free resource to
help guide investors and developers through the permit process. The County development policy emphasizes complete streets, which includes retro fitting streets with safe bicycling lanes but this is very costly. The county makes every effort to get public investment grants for this purpose. Ms. Stevens mentioned that there are 5 specific plans for the Jackson Highway greenfill development one of which is relocating the Sacramento Rendering Company plant near Sunrise and Kiefer boulevards. That project involves complicated issues of traffic and air quality which may cause long delays in its completion. 7 Infill- Greg Sandlund, City of Sacramento, Acting Infill Coordinator The City of Sacramento zoning code and general plan have been updated to promote and ease the process of development, particularly infill. Two thirds of new City projects are projected to come from infill areas. The old zoning code had very stringent restrictions on parking, heights, gates, and setbacks. These were modified in the newly approved code and allow for more mixed use and higher density. The Railyards is one the largest infill parcels available and vacant in the country. One key goal of infill is to encourage housing in this jobs rich area. The City wants to encourage development of new streets and housing. La Valentina, the poster child for new infill projects, includes mixed uses, is near light rail public transit, and is affordable and energy efficient. Another significant change in the new zoning code is that there is a single entitlement now to city wide site plan review with deviations instead of variances. Therefore, fewer projects go to the planning commission and City Staff has been given more authority to approve projects in lieu of the majority of them going up for planning commission review. Potential hindrances to new infill projects include: The City does not want any net increase in drainage from new projects as the City of Sacramento has a combined sewer system with aging infrastructure. They require that new developments keep and project drainage onsite, which is expensive. Lenders can be uncomfortable with infill projects that are mixed use. Projects can run into unforeseen issues such as finding underground tanks which require clean up. Communities have concerns about increased traffic with new projects.
In the past, parking was a complicated piece of the zoning code, particularly downtown. The new parking code now has eliminated parking requirements downtown and the requirements have eased for urban and suburban projects. Mr. Sandlund mentioned that the consensus across the state is that if a region wants to encourage infill, then parking code restrictions must be tackled first. Mr. Sandlund believes that large projects are being approved quicker while maintaining high design standards. Projects that require staff level review still must go through the CEQA review. Water development fees are waived for infill projects. The City of Sacramento has a 10,000 Homes Initiative for the Central City including a downtown master plan, historic building landmark survey, infrastructure finance districts and shared parking agreements. The City has also compiled a list of shovel ready sites. Another potential change that may affect infill projects, is the City of Sacramento s consideration of revising their landscaping ordinance to allow artificial turf in front yards as a means of water conservation. Artificial turf has a life span of 10-20 years so disposal of the product may pose an environmental issue. The environmental ramifications of replacing live landscape with artificial turf have not been widely studied. The present code does not require new developments to include drought tolerant landscaping. Action: Request checklist of how things have changed in the new zoning IMP and if there is a list of shovel ready sites online. SEC Awards Designations Motion to approve the awards designations determined by the awards committee by George Buzz Link, seconded by Mark White. Ayes: Mark White,, Dana Curran, George "Buzz" Link, Dr. Anthony DeRiggi, Mark Barry, Eric Rivero-Montes, Diane Kindermann, Richard Hunn and Dana Curran SEC Vision Statement Review Item continued to the July meeting. Sacramento County Environmental Management Director s Report- Val Siebal, Director
9 Environmental News Review- Vice Chair Curran 10 Commissioners Comments: Commission reviewed draft letter inviting the neighboring cities of Rancho Cordova and Citrus Heights to join the SEC. A motion to send the letter was made by Mark White and seconded by George Buzz Link. Ayes: Mark White, Dana Curran, George "Buzz" Link, Dr. Anthony DeRiggi, Mark Barry, Eric Rivero-Montes, Diane Kindermann, Richard Hunn and Dana Curran Abstentions: None Action completed 7/1/15 by Secretary Koehn. Mark White suggested a speaker on the topics of E waste processing and recycling car seats for kids. 11 Adjournment- Meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m. The next meeting will be held on July 20 th, 6:30 p.m., at the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 700 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.